The Full Armor

Hello friends! It is the last installment of Ephesians. I have loved this series thus far and I hope you have too. Today, I mainly want to look at Paul's armor of God. Let's get into it! Verses 10-13, 'Be strong in the Lord and in his might power. Put on the full armor of God, so that you can take your stand against the devil's schemes. For our struggle is not against flesh and blood, but against the rulers, against the authorities, against the powers of this dark world and against the spiritual forces of evil in the heavenly realms. Therefore put on the full armor of God, so that when the day of evil comes, you may be able to stand your ground, and after you have done everything to stand...' Paul is about to explain what the full armor of God is. I love this bit. This is how we can be strong in the Lord and how we can prepare for the return of Jesus.

Verse 14, 'Stand firm then, with the belt of truth buckled around your waist,' We must hold God's truth near and dear to us. Fastened around us tightly so that we can never loose sight of it.

Verses 14 (continued)-15, 'with the breast plate of righteousness in place, and with your feet fitted with the readiness that comes from the gospel of peace.' The breast plate protects the most important parts our body including the heart. Being righteous and moral shields our hearts from the forces of evil. Our feet carry us where we need to go, so we must carry His teachings and the proclamation that we are saved by grace (the good news) with us everywhere we go.

Verse 16, 'In addition to all this, take up the shield of faith, with which you can extinguish all the flaming arrows of the evil one.' Because of our faith, because we are marked by God, nothing can come between us and God. Not even a flaming arrow from the enemy.

Verse 17,'Take the helmet of salvation and the sword of the spirit, which is the word of God.' God has saved our heads. Because of His salvation; no harm can come to us. The spirit (the bible) is our weapon. It can pierce through even the toughest of hearts. We should carry the word of God in our sheath; at arms reach, at the ready.

I love Paul's armor of God. So are you covered in God's truth, righteousness, peace, faith, salvation, and Spirit? Are you clothed with the full armor of God? Paul doesn't just say put on the armor of God, but the FULL armor. He says it twice. What garments could you be missing? Stand your ground. Stand strong in the Lord. A warrior wouldn't go out to a battle with no armor. So wear that full armor. And find some joy in today. I'm smiling in knowing no harm can come my way when God is for me. I'm not perfect. Not by a long shot. And I never will be. But as long as the man upstairs is for me; absolutely no one can be against me.